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Oakland Raiders: Rookie free agent signings

By Rob Calonge | April 27th, 2008

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As of 9:42pm pst, the Raiders have continued to work on their rookie class by signing three undrafted free agents. The Raiders only had five draft picks in the seven round draft and only one pick prior to the fourth round. The players signed are Chris Wagner, TE, South Dakota State; Louis Rankin, RB, Washington (I guess you can never have too many); Shane Simmons, OLB, Western Washington.

Chris Wagner was a dual sport athlete at South Dakota State, also playing basketball. He’s 6′6″ and 255 pounds with a 4.85 40 yard dash time. In his Senior year, he played 11 games, caught 25 passes for 249 yards and four touchdowns, with a long of 55. This guy is a physical specimen at 6′6″, he could gain weight and possibly move into a tackle spot. His 40 time wouldn’t prohibit him from staying at the tight end position to be the blocking TE the Raiders have looked for in a ‘Big’ formation. The video above is a little annoying with the music, but if you watch closely for number 88, you’ll see that the kid can block pretty good and that he’s a gamer.

Above is a video of Louis Rankin of Washington University supposedly running the 40 in pads in 4.0 seconds. Yeah, uh-huh. The kid can play though. In 2007, he ran for 1294 yards on 233 carries for an average of 5.6 ypc and he also scored six touchdowns rushing for the Huskies. He also caught 20 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Had the first 1000 yard rushing season at Washington since Rashaan Shehee in 1997. Rankin measures in at nearly 6′0″, 200 pounds, and ran the 40 in 4.55 seconds.

Shane Simmons is a smallish outside linebacker who measures in at 6′1″ 240 pounds. The video above is a little annoying, but it features Simmons quite a bit, he’s number 9. Back in March, long time talent evaluator Gil Brandt had this to say about him:

“This was actually Eastern Washington’s Pro Day, but the prospect to watch was from a visiting school. LB Shane Simmons is a very good small-college player who hails from the same league that produced Giants TE Kevin Boss last year. Like Boss, this player will be drafted by someone…

» LB Shane Simmons (6-1 ¼, 239): Ran the 40 in 4.63 and 4.65, had a 34-inch vertical jump, 9-foot, 10-inch long jump, 4.55 short shuttle, and 7.54 cone drill. He did not do the bench press due to a wrist injury.“

If Gil Brandt likes him, then he must have some potential. He played in 10 games, had 125 tackles with 63 being solo, 6 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks. To give you an idea of his impact on the defense, the next closest tackler on the team had 60 total tackles! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player have more solo tackles than any other teammates’ total tackles.

I don’t know what’s gotten into the Raiders since the draft ended, but these three players look like good signings. Unfortunately for Rankin, he’s going to have to leap four players to make the opening day roster.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 27th, 2008 at 10:51 pm and is filed under 2008 offseason, 2008 NFL Draft. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

13 Responses to “Oakland Raiders: Rookie free agent signings”

Patrick Patterson says:

April 27th, 2008 at 11:28 pm

Nice take on the postdraft guys.
Spencer Mills says:

April 27th, 2008 at 11:40 pm

Well,

It looks like Al really is content with one DL prospect from the draft. I am already praying that the hex will be taken of Terdell Sands, cause otherwise, the Raiders are in for it again on the ground. I am happy with D-Mac of course, but I fully expected Al to try and address the NT position later in the draft, as well as get Cable some OL prospects. Oh Well!! We have to pray that the off season moves will work out on both sides of the line.

D-Mac in Silver and Black!! Unleash Cerberus!!

OakFoSho
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April 28th, 2008 at 12:52 am

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real men wear black says:

April 28th, 2008 at 1:28 am

This was by far the most disapointing Raida draft ive ever sat through.Al must be heavily medicated, how does he let the strongest OL class since i can remember pass by round after round? The best 2 OL from 07 are gone Barry Sims and Newberry,replaced with Wade and Harris wich is a downgrade in my opinion. So i thought 4sho that he would attend to JaMarcus’s need to get a second or two to throw da rock,but not Al he trades Fabian 1st rounder from 2005 (which i saw coming,but thought we could get a 3rd pick for or maybe a 4th and 5th) for a 4th round pick and takes Arman Shields WR RICHMOND ,who i think was a nice grab cause Arman is a burner(James Jett with hands and ball skills,best combine performer in the WR class hands down) Which will help Walker earn some of that huge contract.Da Raida’s 100th pick is what kills me Tyvon Branch CB CONNECTICUT who is just a cheaper Fabian Washington and will be lucky to make the team, when some real value was still available @ the OL position;for example (109) Philadelphia (From Carolina) Michael McGlynn OG PITTSBURGH
McGlynn could be the heir apparent to the Eagles’ aging tackles. He might be a better fit at guard, but he has experience at right tackle and is an excellent drive-blocker.
(112) Cincinnati Anthony Collins OT KANSAS
Collins has good size with the frame to get bigger. He is a developmental prospect who will have to learn to play on the right side. The Bengals add depth to the offensive line with this pick, as there are concerns about Willie Andrews and Levi Brown, who didn’t play up to speed last year .Or my future hall of fame prospect (130) Pittsburgh (From NY Giants) Tony Hills OT TEXAS
Hills is coming off a season-ending leg injury and needs to work on using his hands to control defenders, but he has the size and mobility to develop into an excellent right tackle or adequate left tackle.But i guess Al thinks for 60 mil. Russell should be able 2 block 4 himself.Who knows maybe Mario Henderson and Paul McQuistan will break through this year and im worried about nothing.
PS:here are a few rookie free agents i hope we get Jeremy Gethers-UNLV 6′ 2″ 255 4.65(pass rush specialist), Tommy Blake-TCU 6′ 3″ 287 4.60(Blake arrived at Texas Christian as a running back in 2003 and redshirted his first year. He was moved to defensive end, where he appeared in 39 games over the next three seasons (2004-’06), registering 134 tackles (36.5 for losses) and 19 sacks. As a senior, he played eight games (seven starts) and finished the season with 21 tackles (eight for losses) and four sacks. Blake left the team during the 2007 season for several games for personal reasons. Blake looked like a premiere undersized defensive end/rush-linebacker prospect with excellent speed and a non-stop motor following his junior season. Unfortunately, Blake is dealing with a mental condition that has among other things severely impaired his ability to play the game of football. For obvious reasons, Blake’s NFL draft stock has plummeted to the final few rounds — and there’s a good chance he is not selected at,will he snap out of it worth a look.And Drew Radovich-USC 6′ 4″302. anyways just baffled a little but am excited to welcome McFadden to da town and will be a fixture at our home games.GO RAIDA’S,just win baby!
Rolni says:

April 28th, 2008 at 1:56 am

Hey Oak i feel the same…
I mean i wanted an NT and some OL guys…in the 4th we should get Dre Moore or Red Bryant instead of our new CB\S.
I think Cable already know how our Oline will look like and it’s a good sign that he think we have the guys who we need, i trust in him!!
Dline…fo sure they are high on Kelly (me too) and they must be high on Sands…hopefully he will play like in 06 and then we will be ok at DT…Burgess will be a force against the pass and i think Edwards will be the other and in passing downs maybe later our new DE(Scott) will get some time…he is real fast and i think he will be god in a few years…Against the run J-Rich will be in offcourse but i don’t know who will be the other guy??Burg and Edwards are non factors against the run…maybe William Joseph will try it or we get a DE via trade??
I don’t know what we are going to do with our RB’s…Jordan will be cut…and then what to do with Rhodes and Fargas i would say trade one of them for a DE or something…
Bush and McFadden together could be awesome if both can do the translation to the NFL well!!
If our Dline and Oline will be solid\good than it was an OK draft, but if we can’t protect J-Rock and\or can’t stop the run we won’t go far with DMC!!!
Rob Calonge says:

April 28th, 2008 at 8:22 am

While I’m happy that half of Raider Nation and McFadden got their wish, I can also empathize with the other half who are completely disillusioned by this weekend’s events. I’ll be writing more about this later today, so stay tuned.

What I’m most happy about is that McFadden WANTS to be a Raider. It’s also good to note, that Chris Long was quoted as saying he wanted to be a Ram.
pat T says:

April 28th, 2008 at 9:12 am

Look im happy with Dmac on our squad, but how does Al not adress the D-line. I can at least understand why he didnt do anything for the O-line maybe they know something we dont maybe Mario Henderson will turn out to be pretty good. But we have nothing for the D-line he left us with the same we had last year other than the fact Sapp retired. Al will be calling Sapp begging him to come back lol! The only Temporary solution i can think of is try and sign Anthony “Booger” McFarland for a veteran minimum but he’s injury prone, still should some what help us with some veteran ledership if nothing else.

And im not to worried about our O-line because like Rolni said i think Cable might know what he’s gonna do with them. Plus it will help alot that for the 1st time in a long time the O-line will probably have the same guys as last year. I can see Kwame Harris starting at left tackle, Robert Gallery left guard, John Wade center, Cooper Carslile right guard, Paul Mquistan or Cornell Green at right tackle. and you never know maybe Mario Henderson will steal one of their positions at tackle. But i see Henderson as more like a project maybe next year because i think he was only a one year starter in college he needs to get stronger before they throw him out there with the big dogs. Our D-line on the other hand im worried about we’ll have to wait and see but i say give McFarland a phone call at least.

Hey Rob offcourse Chris Long and Dmac are gonna say their happy about being on their squads their getting paid $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Who wouldnt be happy receiving a FAT paycheck from Al. Dont be fooled he would’ve said the same if the Jets wouldve taken him. But i dont think Chris wanted to be a Raider and i also dont think Howie wanted him to come to us. I honestly wouldve preffered to have seen Glenn Dorsey in a Raiders uniform i think he wouldve been a better fit, plus Dmac’s mom didnt hi want him to come to Cali she wanted him in Dallas but whatever. Well the Raider Nation gotta hope for some miracle for us to be able to stop the run this season. I dont understand why the hell Al would trade up in the 4th round to get a CB a fucking CB were stacked at that position. Maybe he can be a beast a KR and PR.

GO RAIDERS!!!
ummmm says:

April 28th, 2008 at 9:41 am

Why so much concern about our o-line? Did you watch them at all in ‘07? What a HUGE improvement over previous years, and that was only 1 year into the system. Kwame Harris was brought in for a reason and I’ll take Tom Cable’s word for it if he thinks he can blossom in our system. I think our best linemen last year were Cooper Carlisle and Robert Gallery, and with bringing in Harris and the development of McQuistan (who finished strong last year) we have a very promising YOUNG line, with a veteran leader at C. Newberry was good as a stop-gap and an on-field teacher, but I think John Wade will be an upgrade in mobility and has more left in the tank.
As for Tyvon Branch being compared to Washington and lucky to even make the team? Have you actually seen the guy? First, Branch will be playing SAFETY, not CB. Second, he is a far better tackler, better in run support and much more willing to mix it up than Washington ever will be. Third, he excels on special teams both in coverage and KR, which are both areas the Raiders need to improve. So we potentially filled 3 areas of need with 1 pick. And Washington’s salary is under a million this year and just over the next, so I doubt salary had anything to do with it.
BoNE says:

April 28th, 2008 at 10:28 am

I am happy with the raiders draft though I think they could’ve gotten more for Fabian. There is one more trade I think the Raiders should make; Javon Walker(so what if we just got him), LaMont Jordan, Stuart S. and a future draft pick (if necessary) for Chad Johnson. We NEED ocho-cinco!!!
Patrick Patterson says:

April 28th, 2008 at 12:26 pm

There is no way the Raiders could trade Walker, the cap acceleration would be insane
pat T says:

April 28th, 2008 at 2:43 pm

NO BONE YOUR CRAZY WE DONT NEED CHAD HE CAN STAY WHERE HE’S AT I DONT WANT HIM!!!! HE WOULD BE NOTHING BUT TROUBLE FOR US!!!

GO RAIDERS!!!
Thoughts from the Dark Side: Oakland Raiders: Rookie free agent signings | The RaiderCast says:

April 28th, 2008 at 6:49 pm

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Darrin Brown says:

April 29th, 2008 at 9:40 am

Shane Simmons will suprise us all with speed heart and raider determination. He has a knack for the ball from sideline to sideline………